BAY MINETTE – The City Council got its first good look at a new sign ordinance Monday night.

Officials will study the document, recommended by the planning commission, for several months before adopting it. They scheduled a public hearing on the ordinance for Aug. 19 at 6 p.m. in the council chambers. The council is scheduled to adopt it on Sept. 3.

 “We worked long and hard on this, attended workshops, looked at other cities ordinances trying to find the best solution,” said planning commission chair Todd Stewart. “The root of the matter is businesses need to properly identify who they are and what they do.

“The old ordinance was kind of chaotic. We had to clean it up and get rid of a lot of redundancy.”

Stewart said the former planning commission who wrote the old ordinance looked at the laws in other cities and cobbled together one for Bay Minette out of the bits and pieces they liked. In addition to cleaning up the language, the commission had to update the ordinance to deal with electronic and flashing signs. In January, the council enacted a moratorium on digital reader board signs. Monday night, they extended that edict for another three months.

“In reviewing this ordinance, we need to make sure it can be enforced,” said councilwoman Kathy Dobbins. “We have portable signs all over that have been illegal for years but nobody to call.”

“Are there monetary penalties?” asked Mayor Bob Wills. “You’ve got to have some teeth in it or who cares?”

Stewart said the commission studied the ordinance to make sure it could be enforced. He noted that in most cases, the penalty for infractions is the removal of the offending sign. City attorney Scotty Lewis said that the sign ordinance is just one chapter of the city code. He added that any monetary fines would be spelled out in a different section of the city’s rules and regulations.

The 21-page ordinance spells out in detail what is and what isn’t allowed on everything from political signs to temporary banners to signs that are never allowed.

Political signs cannot be erected earlier than 90 days prior to the election date for municipal elections. For county, state and federal elections, the signs can go up six months before the election. Signs can be up to 32 square feet in size in business and industrial areas. Residential signs are limited to 4 square feet. It states that candidates must remove their signs within a week of the election.

Among the signs that are prohibited and portable signs, inflatable signs, tethered balloons, flashing type or digital signs, exceptionally bright signs that might distract motorists and pedestrians, signs “lettered in a crude or amateurish fashion,” and vehicles which contain advertising but are not used in the daily conduct of business.

The council hopes to make any changes in the review process before the public hearing.

“When you read over this, please do be critical of it,” Stewart said to the council. “If there is a problem, we need to correct it.”